The EU referendum has proved an unmitigated disaster – let’s not have a second one

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You'd have to be barking to entertain the idea of a second referendumCredit:
ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP

To hold another vote on Brexit would be a cop-out

We are in a desperate constitutional pickle. The 2016 referendum unleashed demons that will be hard to drive back into their dark caves. The sovereignty of the people has trumped that of Parliament and the latter simply does not know how to respond.

Their quandary was compounded by a general election which failed to deliver a majority for the governing party and left the Prime Minister unable to get the Brexit she had intended to pursue through the Commons. The question now is how do we get out of this mess without breaking the system entirely?

Some constitutionalists argue that the answer is another referendum. Only by going back to the people...